MEDIA MONITORING PROJECT ZIMBABWE

Media Update # 2001/3Monday 15th January to Sunday 21st January
2001

SUMMARY

News of ZANU PF's by-election victory in Bikita West was quickly
supplanted in the daily media by news of the assassination of DRC
president, Laurent Kabila - and the efforts by the governments of
Zimbabwe and the DRC to obscure news of his death. As a result, ZBC was
exposed as the government mouthpiece that it is, while The Daily News
strangely relegated initial news of the shooting to page two. The
state-controlled media was saturated with confusing news about the
assassination, President Mugabe's eulogies for Kabila and largely unhelpful
speculation about the political implications of Kabila's death. The Herald
led every edition from Wednesday with Kabila-associated stories, while
ZBCTV's News- Hour smothered its audiences with an hour and 20 minutes - a
staggering 26% of its airtime - on the topic in the five bulletins
following news of the shooting.

The greatest problem for the
state-controlled media was government's efforts to support the DRC
government's claim that Kabila was still alive - more especially difficult
after Defence Minister Moven Mahachi had been quoted in the international
media (via a Ziana story) stating that he had died. Thus readers of The
Herald found themselves on Thursday (18/1) reading a story which largely
confirmed the newspaper's second edition story of the previous day which
confirmed that Kabila had died, but this time under the heading, Conflicting
reports surround President Kabila's fate. While the story appeared to be
factually accurate, there seemed to be little value in attempting to confuse
readers with a headline based on a feeble and desperate effort by the
Congo's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Kikaya bien Karubi, telling ZBC
television in Wednesday night's News-Hour that: "As we speak there is a
team of Congolese doctors who are attending to him. Obviously, he is in a
very critical condition, but he has not passed away yet."Needless to
say, ZBC didn't ask him why other DRC officials had been quoted in the
United States and Libya reporting his death. Nor did any of the state media
report Mahachi confirming Kabila's death.Avid media watchers would have
noted however, that Karubi was obviously a very confused man. For while he
was telling Zimbabwe's "official" electronic media that Kabila was still
alive, he told The Daily News that he had indeed died. The paper duly
reported this contradiction in its Thursday (18/1) edition, together
with Mahachi's statement, confirming the Congo leader's assassination.
But Zimbabweans had to wait until Friday (19/1) for an explanation as to
why such a mystery over Kabila's death was manufactured. While The Zimbabwe
Independent (19/1) shed light on the reason for the delay in reporting
Kabila's death, The Zimbabwe Mirror reported that Mahachi had been
reprimanded by acting President Muzenda for breaching international protocol
by confirming Kabila's death ahead of any statement by the DRC
itself.The Independent's story, Zim in Kabila cover-up, unraveled the
mystery when it reported that news of Kabila's death had been "clumsily
manipulated by Congolese and Zimbabwean authorities to ease the transition
of power in Kinshasa." The story was not only clearly issue-oriented and
well sourced, but also avoided the belaboured question of Kabila's fate and
addressed the question of why Kabila's death was shrouded in secrecy.
Shakespeare Maya, director of the UZ's Bureau of Strategic Studies, was
quoted as saying that the manipulation of information about Kabila's death
was "meant to ensure the collective security arrangements by allied forces
to protect troops at the battle fronts and also consolidate central
authority in Kinshasa."Ironically, it was a CNN report rebroadcast on
ZBC TV's 11pm bulletin on Tuesday (16/1) that first broke the story of an
attempted coup against Kabila. From then on ZBC began reporting that Kabila
had been assassinated quoting sources such as the Belgian Foreign
Minister (all stations 17/01 morning news bulletins). ZBC Radio (17/01, 1pm)
and television (6pm), also reported Mahachi saying (mysteriously) that
Zimbabwe would continue to support Kabila's family as well as the DRC
government. Radio's bulletins also quoted Sir Ketumile Masire predicting
that Kabila's death could worsen the war. All the reports however, carefully
omitted that bit of Mahachi's statement confirming Kabila's death.That
evening (17/1) Information Minister Moyo (8pm news all stations) said that
because of conflicting reports from the local and international media the
government would only release a statement after getting information from the
DRC authorities. Then followed the infamous interview with Karubi.ZBC
treated the official announcement of Kabila's death as "breaking" news on
Thursday 18/01 (10pm), almost 12 hours after the actual announcement by the
DRC Minister of Information on Congolese television. Even so, ZBC relied on
an earlier CNN broadcast to provide the report.Subsequent bulletins were
saturated with items about Kabila some of which were of dubious news value.
Radio even reported (20/1 6am) that colonial powers were involved in
Kabila's murder without providing a shred of evidence to back this up.
Zimpapers (17/1) gave the initial story the prominence it deserved and
stitched together different news agency reports highlighting the confusion
over Kabila's fate.The Herald quoted the DRC ambassador to Belgium saying:
Something happened, but I cannot say more.except that the
president is alive. But it also quoted a senior intelligence source in
Uganda saying: He has died. He was shot by unknown people.earlier
today.I am 101% sure he is dead.Surprisingly, The Daily News (17/1)
preferred to lead its edition with a story about a ZBC DJ bribery scandal,
dumping the Reuters agency story of the shooting on page two. But it soon
recovered with a special edition later in the morning announcing Kabila's
death on its front page. Both papers' second editions carried profiles
of the DRC leader's life, but only The Herald reported government meeting
over the assassination and comments from local analysts on the political
implications for Zimbabwe. Notably, Zimpapers took advantage of the fact
that it has access to more than one international news agency in providing a
better picture of the initial events surrounding Kabila's assassination than
The Daily News, which is dependent on Reuters. In this instance, it was able
to take news from Agence France Presse, which traditionally has strong
connections to Francophone countries, including Belgium, whose sources were
among the first to provide confirmation of Kabila's death.Subsequently,
however, Zimpapers struggled to extricate itself from its requirement to
support government's policy of silence as expressed by Information Minister,
Jonathan Moyo (18/1).The Financial Gazette's lead story (18/1) reported
military sources ascribing Kabila's assassination to the growing rift
between Kabila and some of his army generals over the conduct of the war
against the rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda.Coverage of the public's
response to Kabila's death varied according to which paper the audience
patronized. ZIMPAPERS dailies reported shock and sadness, quoting a couple
of ordinary citizens, but also noting that others wanted Zimbabwean troops
pulled out. The Daily News, on the other hand, reported that "scores" of
residents it had interviewed said they were happy Kabila was dead.

CONTINUED ATTACKS ON JUDICIARYAttacks on the judiciary by
public officials continued this week and were reported by ZIMPAPERS and the
private press without any analysis on the implications in terms of
undermining the authority of the judiciary.In their editions of January
18th, The Herald, The Daily News and The Financial Gazette all reported that
Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay had publicly reprimanded Judge President
Godfrey Chidyausiku for criticizing the Supreme Court's decisions on the
land issue during the opening of the judicial year in Bulawayo recently.
Gubbay said Chidyausiku's speech was "essentially a political attack" on his
person and sought to undermine the legal system that he was part of. Gubbay
said: The Judge President cannot defend the failure to obey court
orders on the basis that the land distribution is a political and not a
legal issue. Such an attitude conflicts with the rule of law and
his oath of office.However, The Herald story sought comment from Information
Minister Jonathan Moyo and allowed his attack on Gubbay for reprimanding
Chidyausiku to dominate the article.Moyo said: "The statement is
hypocritical, dictatorial and undemocratic and I hope these things are
not true of the judge himself.the reprimand has come without due
process and smacks of a Kangaroo type of reprimand and a majority of
Zimbabweans will find it offensive and unacceptable."The Herald
followed this up the next day with a statement from Justice Minister,
Patrick Chinamasa, also attacking senior members of the judiciary, saying
judges with links to the Smith regime should be removed from the bench
because they have now become more of an opposition party.Chinamasa was
quoted as saying: The elements on the present bench and associated
with the Smith regime must know and must be told their continued
stay on the bench is no longer at our invitation. Their continued stay
is now an albatross around the necks of our populationThe Herald,
characteristically, allowed this alarming comment to stand without seeking
any alternative point of view regarding the legality and implications of
such a statement. In the same issue the paper reported that Supreme Court
judges had appealed to the presidency to stop war veterans from intimidating
the judiciary.Chief Justice Gubbay's response to Chidyausiku was missing on
ZBC, as was Chinamasa's attack. But ZBC did carry its own story
complementing the Minister's criticism- Philip Chiyangwa saying Zanu PF
MPs would try to force the Chief Justice to resign and that if he refused,
to institute impeachment proceedings. He said:"It is unfortunate that the
rule of law interpretation is that which is not defined by us... In
Zimbabwe, we are the people who are supposed to govern. Zanu PF is in power
and we must rule and we must be in control, otherwise the situation will get
out of hand... Judgments passed in the Supreme Court have been chaotic.
They can cause war in this country."

3. BY-ELECTION RESULTS
All the papers gave prominence to the Bikita West by-election result.
Zanu PF candidate Claudius Makova won the constituency over MDC's Bonnie
Pakai. ZIMPAPERS dailies, particularly The Herald, was hysterical in its
celebration of the election outcome. The Herald's Comment (17/1) was written
as if it was a Zanu PF propaganda paper: "Predictably, MDC's public
relations and media machine is already in overdrive, crying foul and
appealing once more to the international community for succour.
The election, they argue, was not free and fair because of imagined
rigging and intimidation. "One gaffe after another and
surprisingly amateurish political missteps have Mr. Morgan
Tsvangirai's supporters now openly wondering if he really has what it
takes to be CEO of Zimbabwe Inc. Running a political party is no sissy
job as Mr. Boycott must now be finding out."The private press
remained consistent in its coverage of the poll by giving follow-ups and
reviews, and The Daily News (17/1) carried a more realistic editorial giving
a critical, in-depth review of the by-election. The comment did not only
attribute ZANU PF's victory to violence, but also highlighted how the ruling
party had poured material and human resources into the constituency to
coerce the people into voting for it. ZANU PF is alleged to have "poured 20
000 of its members and war veterans to whip up the 40 000 voters in the
constituency."Against this backdrop, the Comment challenged Zimbabweans to
reject the use of force and bribery in elections and called for more
local election monitors to document any future blatant manipulation of
the democratic process. Surprisingly the Comment did not refer to
Tsvangirai's statement that the MDC would deploy 20000 of its own youths in
the constituency. The Financial Gazette (18/1) and The Independent (19/1)
also took a swipe at the ruling party and educated the public about how
violence and bribery, mainly perpetrated by ZANU PF, undermined democracy
and dispossessed the electorate of its power to choose its leaders
freely. The Zimbabwe Mirror (19/1), as usual, took a middle-of-the-road
approach in its review of the poll, saying that both parties were to blame
for the pre-election violence which made the election neither free nor fair.
The paper noted that ZANU PF's victory had been overshadowed by the degree
of violence by both parties and that ". a worrying trend seemed to be
entrenching itself in Zimbabwean politics, indicating that
elections in this country will never again be a peaceful affair unless
political leaders on either side of the political spectrum exercise
political caution."Radio reports on the by-election lacked
credibility, partly because of their insistence on reporting stories without
sources. Initial reports as the vote counting began on Monday 15/1 said that
vote counting had begun but did not provide a source for the story.
Radio 1/3 added the information that three MDC supporters had been
arrested for stoning Hunzvi's car. The response to the election results in
which Zanu PF won, was carried in a single story on the bulletins monitored.
Radio only quoted Minister Moyo, Border Gezi and the winning MP Makova 16/01
6am.ZBC TV on the other hand, carried the election victory throughout
the day, including comments from ZANU PF campaign officials. But news of
Kabila's assassination the next day mercifully brought an abrupt end to
television's indulgent celebration of the ZANU PF
victory.Ends

This report was produced and distributed by the
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Washington - A US lawmaker back from a visit
to the DRC has described the vast central African nation as "a ticking bomb,"
calling on President George W Bush to make Africa a top foreign policy priority.
"The Congo is a ticking bomb," Representative Frank Wolf told reporters, noting
six African countries - Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia -
have had troops fighting there for more than three years. "It is, if you will,
an African world war," said the Virginia Republican, who met with the late DRC
leader Laurent Kabila just days before he was assassinated.

Wolf said it was too soon to tell how the
DRC's new leader, Kabila's son Joseph Kabila, would deal with the situation. The
army major general, believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, is due to be
sworn in Friday. Wolf called on Bush to create a task force to thoroughly review
US policy toward Africa, work on debt relief for the poorer nations and appoint
a special envoy to the region. The envoy, Wolf said, had to be a high-profile
diplomat "with a direct line to the president." US Secretary of State Colin
Powell, however, has suggested many of the special envoy positions from the
administration of former president Bill Clinton may not be renewed, which could
include Jesse Jackson's appointment as US Democracy envoy to Africa. Bush's
administration also has yet to announce specific policies toward
Africa.

Wolf, describing the toll that prolonged war,
famine and AIDS are inflicting on sub-Saharan Africa, insisted the United States
had to remain involved, particularly in the DRC and Sudan. "We (US) have made a
difference in Northern Ireland. We have worked to stop the violence among ethnic
and religious factions in Eastern Europe. We are attempting to bring peace to
the Middle East. It is time to focus on Africa," he said.

From The Star (SA), 26
January

Zim government promises
clampdown on protests

Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's
government said on Friday it would deal ruthlessly with attempts by the
opposition to force it out of power through mass protests. "Any attempt to
remove the government of Zimbabwe by unconstitutional means will be dealt with
swiftly and ruthlessly and within the provisions of the law," Home Affairs
Minister John Nkomo told a news conference. The MDC has promised to organise
mass action - including strikes and street marches - against the government. It
has not said when it will stage the protest after suspending one planned for
last December. "What the MDC calls mass action is in fact an insurrection. The
security arms of the state will be in full force to ensure law and order
throughout the country during the intended insurrection," Nkomo said on Friday.
"I have accordingly instructed the arms of the state to be ready for the task to
defend our gains." He accused the MDC of also planning to hijack a civil
servants' pay strike that began on Wednesday…

From The Daily News, 27
January

Farmer injured in war
veterans attack

Boet Jacobs, a Chivhu commercial farmer,
sustained serious injuries after an attack by six axe- and stick-wielding war
veterans at his Badza Farm on Wednesday. Jacobs was rushed to The Avenues Clinic
in Harare where he is being treated. Malcolm Boyland, managing director of the
hospital, confirmed yesterday that Jacobs was in the hospital but refused to
give details of his condition.

Commercial farmers said Jacobs was attacked by
six war veterans who have been occupying the farm since February last year. The
official said trouble started when the war veterans drove Jacobs' cattle into
the security fence surrounding his residence. A farm worker is alleged to have
alerted Jacobs. "While Jacobs was coming from the workshop, the six war veterans
attacked him with axes and sticks," said the CFU official. "They left him
unconscious for some time. He sustained multiple facial injuries. He had a deep
wound on the back of his head. He had an axe wound on his right
forearm".

Jacobs engages in mixed farming on his Badza
Farm. Chivhu police yesterday referred all questions on the incident to Harare,
where the police spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena, said he could not assist as he was
not in office. More than 33 people, five of them white farmers and most of them
supporters of the opposition, were killed, some of them on the farms, in the
run-up to the June parliamentary election. The latest victim was a Kwekwe farmer
and former Member of Parliament, Henry Swan Elsworth. He was killed outside his
farm by unknown gunmen last month. There have been no arrests.

From BBC News, 26
January

Funeral trouble in
Zimbabwe

Bulawayo - Trouble erupted on Friday at a
funeral service in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe for a soldier killed in the DRC.
President Mugabe's decision to send thousands of troops to help his ally, the
former President Kabila, in the DRC, has not proved popular in Zimbabwe. Tempers
flared when army officers present at the service told the bereaved family,
including his twin brother, that there could be no viewing of the body because
it was in such a bad state. When they then told the family to proceed with the
burial they refused to go ahead. Some demanded to know what the army officers
were hiding.

The drama was eventually resolved when the
officers were told of an unusual custom of the Shangaan speaking people.
According to the custom, if the living twin is not allowed to see the body of
his twin brother, he too dies in less than 24 hours. Shangaan elders say it has
happened in the past and the tradition should be respected even by the
government. In the end, the officers felt they had no choice but to allow the
family and the surviving twin brother to see the body of the dead
soldier.

At the funeral service, speakers could hardly
contain their anger at the government's continued involvement in the war in DRC.
Military officers kept on interrupting them asking them to stick to the word of
God and stop talking about politics. Even so, one speaker told the mourners that
their children were dying for nothing in the Congo. Residents told me there have
been eight other funerals of Zimbabwean soldiers killed in Congo just in the
township suburb of Cowdray Park. Army drivers have been working overtime
transporting mourners to different houses in the township. Zimbabwean army
casualties from DRC are not reported officially and journalists questions are
not answered by army headquarters or the ministry of defence. Information about
the war is withheld for security reasons.

From The Independent
(UK), 27 January

Tight security in
Kinshasa as President Kabila is sworn in

Ten days after his father's assassination,
Major-General Joseph Kabila was sworn in yesterday as the fourth President of
the DRC since its independence in 1960. His much-anticipated first speech to the
nation was due to be broadcast on television last night. Although his selection
by the government and military leadership has been criticised by many in
Kinshasa as monarchic and anti-democratic, observers hope his appointment will
mark a generational shift that could herald peace.

The DRC, Africa's third-largest nation, has
been at war since August 1998 with rebels backed by Laurent-Desire Kabila's
erstwhile allies, Rwanda and Uganda. They backed his march on Kinshasa in 1997
when he succeeded Mobutu Sese Seko, who had been in power for 32 years.
Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia have also been drawn into the conflict. If
President Kabila signals that he wants a cessation, new peace efforts launched
this week by Belgium, the former colonial power, are likely to bear fruit.
Yesterday's ceremony at the Palace of the Nation sent few clear signals. But
observers said it was significant that President Kabila, thought to be 29, did
not appear in uniform, opting for a blue suit, and that he spoke French - the
most widely spoken national language. As during his father's funeral last
Tuesday, tight security was provided by troops from Zimbabwe, Angola and
Namibia. The government decided against lifting a night curfew that has been in
force almost continuously since the assassination in the capital.

From Pan African News
Agency, 26 January

Adviser Cites Foreign
Involvement in Kabila's Assassination

Lome, Togo - "A preliminary inquiry proves
that a foreign and enemy hand had expertly prepared President Laurent Kabila's
assassination," a presidential adviser of the DRC, Constantin Nono Lutula, said
Thursday. "When the time comes, the Congolese people will be informed, as well
as Africa and the whole World," Lutula added. Lutula, who has been designated
adviser to President-designate, Joseph Kabila, was speaking after holding talks
with President Gnassigbe Eyadema, current OAU chairman, at his home village of
Pya. "An event we all deplore took place at home. That is the assassination of
Mr Laurent-Desire Kabila by a bird-brained Congolese, actually one of his
bodyguards, but armed by a foreign hand," Lutula said. He said there was
unanimity within the Public Salvation Government and the army to hand over power
to Maj.-Gen. Joseph Kabila.

From The Star (SA), 26
January

Dos Santos fires
Angolan army chief of staff

Luanda - Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos
Santos sacked his army chief of staff on Friday, bringing further uncertainty to
the region after the killing of the DRC's president, Laurent Kabila. No
explanation was given for the sacking, announced in a presidential decree, of
General Joao Baptista de Matos. The decree said deputy defence minister Armando
da Cruz Neto would replace him. Matos had held the army's top job since 1992.
Angola, along with Zimbabwe and Namibia, has been supporting the DRC government
in its war against Ugandan and Rwandan-backed rebels that erupted in August
1998, and fighting Unita rebels at home.